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SAN FRANCISCO – Martin Olive, co-owner of the Vapor Room cannabis dispensary in San Francisco, is recovering after being shot six times in an unprovoked attack outside his store on Monday evening.
“It’s a miracle that Martin’s alive, and a miracle that he’s going to fully recover from this,” said Tina Gordon, Olive’s longtime friend and business partner.
Olive, 47, was on a break outside the dispensary when a man on an e-bike parked, approached, and opened fire without saying a word, Gordon said.
“It is an incredible miracle he’s alive,” she said. “And we’re also managing a mystery because we have no idea who would shoot him.”
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The backstory:
Surveillance footage captured the suspect getting off his e-bike, pistol in hand, before firing multiple shots at Olive.
“To be clear, this was not a robbery attempt. This was an attack,” Gordon said.
Olive was rushed to the hospital. Doctors told Gordon the bullets missed all of his vital organs, and he suffered no brain or spinal damage. However, he will have shrapnel in his body for the rest of his life.
Gordon said Olive, known for his resilience, was already making jokes from his hospital bed about how difficult it will be to get through airport security from now on.
“This really speaks to his character—he can barely speak, and he’s making jokes,” she said. “What Martin told me about that day, is that he didn’t recognize this guy [the gunman]. He had no idea who this guy was and he just kept saying, ‘why would he shoot me?’ It was heart-wrenching.”
Details on the gunman:
The San Francisco Medical Examiner identified the gunman as 35-year-old Cheasarack Chong. After shooting Olive, Chong ran into his apartment building next door. Hours later, he died in a shootout with police. Investigators recovered multiple firearms from his apartment.
Chong had never been a customer at the dispensary, and no one from the shop had ever interacted with him before, Gordon said.
A Facebook post from 2017 in a group for missing persons showed a younger photo of Chong, reported missing by his family. The post read: “Cheasarack suffers mental health issues. He has the mindset of a child.”
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Gordon expressed frustration over the safety concerns in San Francisco.
“What I’m most frustrated about in this situation is people cannot feel safe on the streets,” she said. “Is this possible this could have happened to any city merchant? How do we create a safer city? How do we participate together in helping people who are suffering?”
What you can do:
As Olive recovers, his friends and family have launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist with medical expenses. A steady stream of visitors have been supporting him at the hospital.
“It’s because he’s a great guy,” Gordon said. “We all want to see Martin recover and thrive and do well.”
The Vapor Room, which has operated in San Francisco for more than 20 years, remains closed indefinitely.
San Francisco police plan to hold a town hall meeting next week to discuss the shooting.
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“}]] Surveillance footage captured the suspect getting off his e-bike, pistol in hand, before firing multiple shots at victim. Read More
